DR Congo Adopts First National AI Strategy Under $8.7B Digital Transformation Plan

The Democratic Republic of Congo adopted its first National Artificial Intelligence Strategy as part of a broader $8.7 billion National Digital Plan (PNN2) covering 2026 to 2030, the government announced in 2026, alongside plans to establish a Congolese Academy of Artificial Intelligence.

The digital plan represents one of the largest publicly stated digital-transformation investment figures announced by an African government in 2026, covering infrastructure, connectivity, and now AI-specific research and governance components. The newly created AI strategy is intended to sit within this wider framework rather than as a standalone initiative.

### A research-capacity ambition

The planned Congolese Academy of Artificial Intelligence is intended to anchor domestic AI research and training capacity, addressing a significant gap in the DRC's higher-education AI offerings relative to other large African economies. Officials have linked the academy's creation to the country's broader ambition to participate more fully in AI-driven economic sectors, including its vast critical-minerals resources.

The AI strategy's adoption follows closely on a separate February 2026 agreement between the DRC and Atlas Park for AI-assisted critical-minerals mapping, signed at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, suggesting AI adoption in the DRC is advancing on both the governance and applied-sector fronts simultaneously.